Passive House Building Certification is the internationally recognized building certification system, providing third-party verification and a stamp of quality assurance that a building meets the high performance and comfort levels of the Passive House standard.  One important aspect is the process-oriented approach to certification. Once this approach is implemented, various audits can be done to ensure levels are met.

The Advantages of PHI Certification

  • Independent Assessment: The role of the certifier is to provide an independent and objective evaluation that will benefit all those involved in the project building process.
  • Avoid Mistakes: Certifiers bring field experience along with industry knowledge that can be of benefit throughout the entire project. This will help eliminate sometimes costly mistakes.
  • Teams Gain New Knowledge:  The review of criteria required and  the design and construction documentation allows team members to gain a new understanding of what is required to meet the building standard calculations early on.
  • Process Approach is Reassurance for all Project Members:  Consultants, designers,  builders and homeowners will be satisfied knowing that a certifier has identified any potential problems, and worked to help find a solution ideally before construction begins.
  • Meeting the Standard: Having a building certifed means team members can be confident that the products are compliant, reliable and of the highest quality.
  • Protects the PHI Standard:  Certification demonstrates the team’s commitment to maintaining the integrity of the most widely recognized building energy-efficiency standard in the world, ensuring quality of processes and products.

 

Helpful documents to read:

Building Certification Guide

Criteria for the Passive House, EnerPHit
and PHI Low Energy Building Standard

 

There are different certification levels and sets of criteria:

 

Criteria

For a building to be certified as a Passive House, it must meet the following main criteria:

 

Click here for more information on the criteria

 

Certification Process

To start the certification process you will need to engage a certifier approved by the Passive House Institute, ideally at the start of a project, as any problems identified early can be easily corrected. However, please note that certification can also be applied after a building is completed.